August 23, 2023

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

RE: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

Dear FOIA Officer:

This letter constitutes a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C.
§ 552. On October 28, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched a mobile
device application called CBP One. CBP One is a mobile application that serves as a single
portal to a variety of CBP services. Over the last two years, the agency has expanded CBP One’s
uses. On August 4, 2023, the Washington Examiner reported that Mexican cartels have found a
way to evade the app's security and request unlimited appointments for anyone in the world, not
just those awaiting entry to the United States in Northern Mexico.

Border security has been an increasing concern for many Americans since the change of
Administrations in early 2021. There is also evidence that illegal crossings along the southern
border of the United States surged by 30% in July 2023 according to preliminary U.S. Customs
and Border Protection data obtained by The Washington Post. Many Americans interpret policies
which allow these illegal crossings as appearing to be a dereliction of law enforcement duties
that the current administration is required to perform under federal law. This raises questions
about the internal operations of our federal law enforcement authorities and the dedication of
scarce taxpayer resources to these efforts. It also raises questions about federal law enforcement
preparedness and operations. To advance the public interest, the Center to Advance Security in
America (CASA) requests the following documents:

1. All meeting requests, calendar entries, virtual meeting invitations, call logs
and any chats in the relevant virtual platforms (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Zoom,
Webex, etc.) pertaining to the development, implementation, and any use
whatsoever of the “CBP One™ Mobile Application”.
2. We are seeking records on this topic exchanged between and among the
relevant following officials:
a. Alejandro Mayorkas
b. Troy A. Miller
c. Pete R. Flores
d. Erin Waters
e. Stephanie Talton
f. Diane Sabatino
g. Jason Owens
h. Manuel Padilla, Jr.
i. Frederick B. Smith
j. Timothy Quinn
k. Chris Pietrzak

1
 l. Jeremy Ocheltree
m. Sonny Bhagowalia
n. Mark Borkowski
3. We are seeking all emails, text messages, chat sessions, or other forms of
written or electronic communication used to discuss the development,
implementation, and any use of the “CBP One™ Mobile Application” and
communications by and between those in #2 above containing the following
phrases and/or words; “geofence”, “immigration”, “cartel”, “cartels”,
“Mexico”, “Mexican”, “Honduras”, “Honduran”, “Nicaragua”, “Nicaraguan”,
“Venezuela”, “Venezuelan”, “China”, “Chinese”, “terrorist”, “gun”, “drugs”,
“border”, “immigrant”, “migrant”, “appointment”, “Guatemala”,
“Guatemalan”, “Chiapas”, “VPN”, “internet”, “smuggler”, “Haiti”, “Haitian”,
“Cuba”, “Cuban”, “hack”, “hacked”, “GPS”, “functionality”, “criminal”,
“New York City”, “New York”, “Texas”, “Arizona”, “House”, “Senate”,
“Congress”, “Congressman”, “Senator”, “Eric Adams”, “Adams”, “Mayor
Adams”, “fentanyl”, “heroin”, “opioid”, “opioids”, “narcoterrorism”, “narco-
terrorist”, “asylum”, “refugee”, “methamphetamine”.
4. All records exchanged by or between any official listed above with any
individual working for one of the following media outlets (with suggested
email addresses) on the topic of the development, implementation, and any
use of the “CBP One™ Mobile Application”:
i. Politico (@politico.com)
ii. Military Times (@militarytimes)
iii. New York Times (@nytimes.com)
iv. Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com)
v. NBC News (@nbcnews.com)
vi. ABC News (@abcnews.com)
vii. LA Times (@latimes.com)
viii. CBS News (@cbsnews.com)
ix. Fox News (@foxnews.com)
x. Wall Street Journal (@wsj.com)
xi. USA Today (@usatoday.com)
xii. Fortune (@fortune.com)
xiii. Forbes (@forbes.com)
xiv. Vanity Fair (@vanityfair.com)
xv. CNN (@cnn.com)
xvi. Associated Press (@ap.com)
xvii. George Washington University’s Project for Media and
National Security
xviii. PBS (@pbs.org)
5. All communications exchanged between any of the above officials, and
anyone identified as an employee, agent, consultant, or representative of one
of the following organizations:
a. Bipartisan Policy Center

2
 b. Immigration Hub
c. Migration Policy Institute
d. Thai Community Development Center (HSI)
e. National Crime Prevention Council (HSI)
f. American Bar Association
g. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
h. American Immigration Council
i. American Voice
j. Catholic Charities US
k. Conference of Bishops
l. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
m. National AILA
n. National American Immigration Lawyers Association
o. National Immigration Law Center
p. National Association of Counties
q. National Immigration Forum + Law Enforcement Task Force
r. Physicians for Human Rights
s. USCCB/Migration and Refugee Services
t. US Conference of Mayors
u. Women Refugee Commission
v. Southern Poverty Law Center
w. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
x. United We Dream
y. Define American
z. Movimiento Cosecha
aa. National Immigrant Justice Center
bb. Immigrant Defense Project
cc. The Young Center for Immigrants Children’s Rights
dd. Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
6. The timeline for the records requested is from May 1, 2021 through the date
when this search begins.

“Records” means information and documents of any kind, including: documents (handwritten,
typed, electronic, or otherwise produced, reproduced, or stored), letters, emails (including
attachments), facsimiles, memoranda, correspondence, notes, databases, drawings, diagrams,
maps, graphs, charts, photographs, minutes of meetings, calendar entries, meeting agendas,
summaries of telephone conversations, notes and summaries of interviews, electronic and
magnetic recordings of meetings, virtual meeting records (including meeting requests, attendees,
attached documents, and chats from software such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Webex), and
any other compilation of data from which information can be obtained. The term “records” also
includes any personal email messages, telephone voice mails or text messages, and internet
‘chat’ or social media messages. It also includes any attachments to such documents or
information.

3
We prefer to receive the report and all records in electronic format. To the extent practicable, we
seek electronic copies of the records in native file format, or, if that is not practicable, with
full metadata for all fields. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(B) (agency shall provide records in any form or
format if the record is readily reproducible in that form or format).

The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to

improving the safety and security of the American people. CASA educates and informs the
American people about the actions of their government and its officials that impact their safety;
peace and security; democracy, civil rights, and civil liberties; and privacy.

CASA is focused on public education, and all materials and information requested will be
disseminated to the public for this purpose. Thus, the disclosure of the requested records would
not be to our primary benefit but would be to the primary benefit of the general public. Further,
these records focus on an issue of widespread public interest, with potentially vital national
security implications: whether the U.S. government is prioritizing military readiness and
appropriately using taxpayer resources to keep Americans safe. For these reasons, we request a
fee waiver pursuant to the FOIA Act, which provides for fee waivers when: (1) “disclosure of the
requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to
public understanding of the operations or activities of the government”; and (2) disclosure “is not
primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii); see also see
40 C.F.R. § 2.107(l)(1).

Moreover, CASA is a representative of the news media for purposes of FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. §
552(a)(4)(A)(ii); see also Cause of Action v. Federal Trade Commission, 799 F.3d 1108, 1120
(D.C. Cir. 2015). To wit, CASA is an entity that gathers information, including through FOIA
requests such as this one, that is of interest to at least a segment of the population. For example,
CASA has launched investigations into the Department of Homeland Security’s reference to
“false or misleading narratives,” which is of interest to Americans concerned about civil
liberties, and the meaning of a “diplomatic boycott” of the 2022 Olympic Games, which is of
interest to people concerned about human rights and America’s relationship with China. See
CASA Press Releases, https://advancing-america.org/category/press-releases/.

CASA also takes the information it gathers and uses its editorial skills to turn it into distinct
works, which are then distributed to an audience. For example, CASA has already produced
several op-eds, see CASA Op-eds, https://advancing-america.org/category/op-eds/, and has
provided editorial commentary that has been cited in multiple media reports. See CASA Media,
https://advancing-america.org/category/media/. Going forward, CASA intends to continue to
gather information, use its editorial skill to turn that information into distinct works, including,
but not limited to, press releases, editorial comments to other publications, op-eds and other
written works, and social media engagement. See Cause of Action, 799 F.3d at 1122 (“A
substantive press release or editorial comment can be a distinct work based on the underlying
material, just as a newspaper article about the same documents would be — and its composition
can involve ‘a significant degree of editorial discretion.’”) (quoting Nat. Sec. Archive v. U.S.
Dept. of Defense, 880 F.2d 1381, 1387 (D.C. Cir. 1989)). At minimum, CASA will post distinct

4
works on its website and email them to email list subscribers. CASA will also work with an
ever-growing list of journalists to reach its audience. For these reasons, at minimum CASA
qualifies for a waiver from search and production costs as a representative of the news media.

If this request is denied in whole or part, please justify all such denials by reference to specific
exemptions, and provide an explanation of why the Department of Defense “reasonably foresees
that disclosure would harm an interest” protected by that exemption or why “disclosure is
prohibited by law[.]” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(8). Please also ensure that all segregable portions of
otherwise exempt material are released.

If you have any questions regarding this request, please feel free to contact me at
james@advancing-america.org.

CASA looks forward to your determination within 20 working days of this request, as is required
by FOIA. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i). Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

James Fitzpatrick
Director
Center to Advance Security in America
1802 Vernon Street NW
PMB2095
Washington, DC 20009
United States